Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Mr. Nobody

As I was thinking of what I could write about for the letter N, "Mr. Nobody" jumped into my head! Hmmm, where on earth was Mr. Nobody?



He's in a wonderful children's poetry book -- The Golden Book of Poetry, edited by Jane Werner and illustrated by Gertrude Elliott. This was my absolute favorite book as a child! It was kept at my aunt's house -- I had various toys and books there since I stayed with her a lot when I needed to be babysat or just to visit.




"MR. NOBODY"
Anonymous

I know a funny little man,
As quite as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody's house!
There's no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr. Nobody.

Tis he who always tears out books,
Who leaves the door ajar,
He pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pins afar;
That squeaking door will always squeak,
For prithee, don't you see,
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody.


The finger marks upon the door
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blinds unclosed,
To let the curtains fade.
The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying round you see
Are not our boots, --- they all belong
To Mr. Nobody.


Hmmm, wonder why that particular poem jumped into my head? I just wonder.....


The book has all kinds of poems, short and long, familiar and not so much. Poems like "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley (this one scared me with its chorus!)

"Er, the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch 
Out!"

and "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll,
and this one also by the infamous Anonymous:

"I'M GLAD"

I'm glad the sky is painted blue,
And the earth is painted green,
With such a lot of nice fresh air
All sandwiched in between.


It has beautiful illustrations like this from "The Road to Raffydiddle" by Margaret Plew Meigs




It told about the "fiddler with his fiddle" and all the people who came to dance. I never tired of matching up the people in the poem with the people in the picture! Do you see the fiddler?
  
I'm so glad I kept this book! Even though it's falling apart now, it will always be a part of my childhood and visits with my aunt..... and Mr. Nobody!


sharing Mr. Nobody over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter N


♥♥

19 comments:

carol l mckenna said...

Sarah ~ what a delightful post and wonderful reminder of Mr Nobody ~ Great one for N ~ thanks,
carol

artmusedog and carol
www.acreativeharbor.com

Betty said...

What an adorable poem. Now I know to blame everything on Mr. Nobody! What a wonderful childhood memory. I'm glad you still have the book. (I still have some of my favorites from childhood too.)

Jackie McGuinness said...

Thanks for sharing. I have a very vague memory of that poem.

storybeader said...

how great it was for you to save the book. I wish I had some of my old books, from childhood. Great illustration! {:-D

Eden House News and views said...

This looks like a good book to share with my grandsons thank you for sharing

Little Wandering Wren said...

What an absolutely gorgeous book, poems and illustrations I am so pleased you have kept a copy from your childhood, it is priceless!
Wren x

21 Wits said...

Now this was a NICE n post!

Lola said...

Agree - such a very *n*ice post!

fredamans said...

I love The Golden Books! I had them all when I was a kid. Brings back memories!

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

my kids had all the Golden Books, I loved them!

this one was a favorite!

Rose Clearfield said...

Fun idea for the letter N! How neat that you still have the book.

Unknown said...

Golden Books were such a big part of my childhood! Thank you for the wonderful memories!

pasqueflower said...

What a beautiful book! I also loved poetry as a child. My favorite (now well-worn book) was A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson.
I also remember the goblins poem -- and "The gingham dog and the calico cat, side by side on the table sat. Twas half past 12 and what do you think? Not one nor the other had slept a wink."

Memories for Life said...

LOL...I think every house has a Mr. Nobody :)

Natashalh said...

Very cool! I think I read that book when I was a kid, even though it's far older than me! There was a copy at my grandparent's house. I used to love reading the books there time and again during the summer.

Lisa {aka LDB Taylor} said...

Lovely. I adore children's books and the old ones are the best!

Sheryl Hastings said...

What a cute and truthful poem! When my kids were little we used to live with someone called "not me." No one ever saw him or her, but "not me" was a major presence in our home.

Abby / Linda said...

Raising so many kids, as I did, Mr. Nobody was always a member of our household! What wonderful memories and treasure you have in that old book!

Splendid Little Stars said...

What an awesome book and memory! Thanks for sharing.
I probably had this book, too.

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